Fence machinery



(No Model.)

J. W.'OLARK.

FENCE MACHINERY.

No. 368,753. Patented Aug. 23, 1887.

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A TTOR/VE Y STATES JOHN w. CLARK, on HAMILTON, OHIO.

FENCE MACHINERY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 368,753, dated August 23, 1887.

Application filed April 20, 1857. Serial No. 235,450. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN W. CLARK, of Hamilton, Butler county, Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fence Machinery, of which the following is a specification.

This invention pertains to machinery to be employed in constructing that class of fences consisting of horizontal strands of two wires each,with vertical slats held between the two wires of each strand by twists of the strandwires between the slats. Such fences are often constructed in the position which they are to occupy as fences,and my improved machinery is intended to serve in the construction of a fence under such circumstances. Sometimes in such wire-and-slat fences the two wires of each strand are given one or more twists in advance of the last slat which has been inserted, and after a new slat is inserted in advance of this twisting a new twist is given in advance of the newly-inserted slat, and so on throughout the length of the fence, the twisting, as the work progresses, being alternately in opposite directions, in order that the wire in advance of the progressing work may not be subjected to accumulative twists. Again, sometimes the advance slat is placed in position and the twisting. of the wire between the new slat and its predecessor is done after such placing of the advance slat. Both these plans are common and well known in connection with these slatand-wire fences, and my machinery is adapted for either mode of operation.

My improvements will be readily understood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 isa perspective view of a slat-andwire fence under process of construction, my

improved machinery being shown as being em-" ployed; and Fig. 2 is a side view of one of the improved twisters,shown in proper relation to the slats and wires.

In the drawings, A indicates the strands of wire, shown as three strands in number, and consisting of two wires each, these strands being designedto extend, as usual, from a starting-post to a tension apparatus by which the strands are tightly strained in the line of the intended fence; B, slats of the completed portion of the fence held between the two wires of each strand and retained edgewise by the usual twists given to each pair of wires in the space between the slats; G, the advance slat of the construction, this slat being disposed between the two wires of each strand and seated as firmly as possible back against the twist previously formed just in advance of the preceding slat; D, a vertical series of twisters, one for each of the strands, each twister comprising a pair of open notches to engage the two wires of the strand, and, essentially, one lever-arm, but, preferably. two lever-arms, by which it may be rotated; E, a vertical handlebar connected with the several twisters and serving as a means by which they may be simultaneously rotated; F, horizontal arms having their outer ends rigidly secured to the handlebar and having their inner ends pivoted to the lever-arms of the twisters, there being one of these arms 'F for each twister; G, the wire-receiving notches in the twister, these notches being located a distance from each other corresponding with the distance apart which the two wires of each strand are to occupy before the twisting takes placethat is, a distance between wires such as will permit the ready insertion of the slats between the wires-the two slots in each twister opening in opposite direction, as clearly seen in Fig. 2, the two notches being parallel to each other, and each notch having parallel side walls and being of a depth adapted toreceive a pair of wires one above the other; H, the lever-arms of the twisters, these arms projecting-in opposite directions from the central portion of the twisters which contains the notches, the projecting of the arms being at an angle to the two slots, 1

as clearly shown, the outer ends of the arms being preferably curved, as shown, to form' felly-like extremities for the arms; J, a spacing-slat placed upon the wires a short distance in advance of the twisting-machine, this slat being a light lath-like piece of wood of sufficient strength to hold the wires in proper relation to each other, but not so heavy as to cause an undesired sagging of the wire; and K, T-shaped notches in the edge of the spacing-slat, one notch for each wire, the notches being outwardly open, the form of the notches permitting of the wires being readily inserted and removed, but preventing the displacement of the wires as the wires and spacingslat are violently disturbed in the course of the twisting operation.

The operation of the device, when employed as illustrated in Fig. l, is as follows: The wires are placed and stretched from starting-post to tension-post in the usual manner. The spacing-slat is placed upon the wires a short distance in advance of the startingpoint and serves to keep the wires of each strand and the separate strands in proper relation to each 7 other and prevents the individual movement of the wire or strands sidewise during the work., The series of twisters is then placed upon the wires, asindicated in Fig. 1. A slat is now inserted vertically, so as to lie between the two wires of each strand, and is pushed to the left toward the starting-post to its proper position. The series of twisters is then pushed to the left as close against the slat as desired. The handle-bar is now pulled toward the operator and away from the wires. This causes a partial rotation of all of the twisters and brings the pivot-points of the lever-arms of the twisters forward. The operator now presses downward upon the handle-bar and then pushes the same forward toward the fence, by which means he has given something more than a half-revolution to all of the twisters. The handle-bar and twisters, without disturbing the rotated position of the twisters, are then moved to the right sufficiently to allow a new slat to be inserted in advance of the twist just formed, the slat being seated as firmly as possible against the terminations of the twists. The twisting machinery is then moved to the left as close as desired against the new slat and the twisting operation is repeated by first pulling the handle-bar outward and then upward and then pushing it inward, this operation causing a rotation of the twisters and a twisting of the wire in a direction opposite to that previously given. When the wire employed is larger and the work consequently hard, the twisting may be performed by directly manipulating one of the twisters, preferably the upper one. This twister is to be turned by its levers precisely as if there was but one twister, and the handle-bar and arms serve in transmitting a corresponding rotation to the other twisters. The result of this ation the spacing-slat J has held the wire strands in proper relation to each other and practically unifies thestrand structure, and as the work progresses the spacing-slat is pushed ahead on the wire.

Where it is desired that the wires, instead of being twisted in alternately-opposite directions in front of the last slat inserted, shall be twisted between the slats after the insertion of the slats the procedure is entirely different. In such case but one twister is employed, the other twisters and the handle-bar and arms F being unemployed. The new slat is inserted between the wires a proper distance from the preceding slat, there being at this time no twisting of the wires between the slats, or, if desired, quitea number of slats may be placed before any twisting is done. The twister is then taken in hand and so manipulated as to bring the two wires of the strand in one of the slots of the twister, the leverarms of the twister projecting outward diagonally from between the slats. The twister is now grasped by one of its lever-arms and a rotary motion is given to it by manipulating the lever-arms successively, as many twists being given to the wire as is desired, after which a reverse rotation is given to-the twister, which serves to disengage the slot from the wire and to thus permit the withdrawal of the wrench from the wires. This operation is repeated with each strand. If several workmen are engaged in the Work at once, several of thetwisters will be employed in this manner. The felly-like extremities of the lever-arms of the twisters serve in permitting the workman to dexterously rotate the twisters, and they also serve in permitting the insertion of the extremity of the twister between the wires of the strand by a hammer like presentation of the hook ends of the twisters.

I claim as my invention-- 1. The twister D, provided. with the parallel pair of slots G, each having parallel walls,and with lever-arms H, projecting outwardly diagonal to the walls of the said slots, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A series of twisters, D, a handle-bar, E, and arms F,connected thereto,and slat J, having T-shaped wire-retaining notches K, combined and arranged for use substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

JOHN W. CLARK.

Witnesses:

J. W. SEE, W. A. SEWARD. 

